Mater Dei School

What Mater Dei School does

Mater Dei School is an independent, Catholic elementary school for boys in grades 1 through 8, located in Bethesda, Maryland. Founded in 1960, the school operates as a private, nonprofit institution serving approximately 200-300 students with class sizes capped at 16-20 pupils and a faculty and staff of roughly 30-40. The educational model centers on Catholic character formation integrated with a rigorous elementary curriculum.

The school's revenue model is tuition-based, with 2025-2026 tuition set at $24,210 per student, supplemented by additional fees ranging from $725 to $1,265. Revenue is augmented by annual giving campaigns, a Founder's Day fundraising event, and limited ancillary programs. Operational technology includes IXL for adaptive learning, Google Workspace for productivity, Blackbaud for tuition billing and fundraising administration, a Shopify-based online bookstore, an SMS notification system, and the MyMaterDei parent portal.

Mater Dei has incrementally expanded its service surface through a summer academic enrichment program targeting 5th and 6th grade English/Language Arts and Math, community service partnerships with multiple nonprofit organizations, and digital infrastructure investments. The school operates as a single-campus institution with no parent company, outside equity ownership, or disclosed M&A activity; its competitive set is other independent faith-based and private elementary schools in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Name

Mater Dei School

Legal name

Mater Dei School

Website

https://materdeischool.net

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Mater Dei School is an independent Catholic elementary school for boys in grades 1-8, located in Bethesda, Maryland. Founded in 1960, it serves approximately 200-300 students through a tuition-funded, nonprofit operating model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent K-8 Catholic School Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools (EDAJABAA)

Keywords

• Independent catholic education
• Boys primary school
• Elementary middle school
• Character development education
• Private school tuition

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tuition: Annual tuition-based revenue model. Tuition for grades 1-8 is $24,210 for 2025-2026 academic year. Additional fees include Lower School fees of $725 and Upper School fees ranging from $840-$1,265 depending on grade.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Mater Dei School is an independent Catholic school for boys in grades 1-8, delivering a reasonably fast-tracked academic curriculum with daily religion instruction and character development as its top priority. The program is organized into Lower School (grades 1-4) and Upper School (grades 5-8) on a single Bethesda, Maryland campus, with class sizes capped at approximately 16-20 students, and is augmented by competitive athletics, Outdoor Week, community service partnerships, after-school Homework Club, and summer academic enrichment.

Product overview

Mater Dei School is an independent, Catholic school for boys in grades 1-8 located in Bethesda, Maryland. The school offers a unified educational program structured as Lower School (grades 1-4) and Upper School (grades 5-8), with character development as the top priority alongside an accelerated academic curriculum. The portfolio includes core educational services, summer academic programs (5th/6th Eng/LA and Math), athletics (soccer, football, basketball, wrestling, hockey, baseball, tennis, lacrosse), Outdoor Week, Homework Club, and community service partnerships. Supplementary offerings include MyMaterDei parent portal, online bookstore, The Blue Blazer newsletter, Head of School SMS notifications, and fundraising programs (Annual Giving, Founder's Day). Religion is taught daily with classes generally limited to 20 students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mater Dei School Education Program Independent Catholic school core education for boys in grades 1-8, organized as Lower School (grades 1-4) and Upper School (grades 5-8) on a single Bethesda campus, with an accelerated curriculum, daily religion instruction, and character development as the top priority. Tuition for 2025-2026 is $24,210 plus grade-specific fees ($725 Lower School; $840-$1,265 Upper School).
• Summer Academic Programs Summer enrichment courses in English/Language Arts and Mathematics for incoming 5th and 6th grade students, held on the Mater Dei campus during July.
• Athletics Program Competitive sports program for Upper School students (grades 5-8) across soccer, football, basketball, wrestling, hockey, baseball, tennis, and lacrosse, with additional intramural and physical education options for all grades.
• Outdoor Week Annual outdoor education experience for Upper School students, with daily trips for 5th graders and overnight trips for 6th-8th graders focused on teamwork, leadership, and personal growth.
• Homework Club After-school supervised homework assistance offered Monday through Thursday until 4:15 PM, supporting students with their daily assignments.
• Community Service Program School-wide service learning program partnering with nonprofits such as DC Central Kitchen, The Father McKenna Center, Nourish Now, Poor Roberts, and Christ Child Society to provide age-appropriate community service opportunities for students across all grades.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record.

• DC Central KitchenOthersNonprofit partnership for community service opportunities. Students gain hands-on experience helping those in need while learning service values.
• The Father McKenna CenterOthersNonprofit partnership for community service. Upper school students serve meals to the homeless as part of service learning curriculum.
• Nourish NowOthersCommunity service partnership providing food assistance opportunities for students of all grade levels.
• Poor RobertsOthersNonprofit community service partner supporting student service learning initiatives.
• Christ Child SocietyOthersNonprofit partnership for community service, including diaper drives and other age-appropriate service projects for lower school students.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bullis School: Co-educational independent day school in Potomac, MD serving grades 1–12 with a strong STEM and arts focus. Comparable on price point, accelerated curriculum, and affluent Bethesda-area catchment.
• The Heights School: Catholic, all-boys day school in Potomac, MD serving grades 3–12 with a classical liberal arts curriculum. Mater Dei's closest peer along three dimensions: single-gender, Catholic, and serving the same affluent Maryland suburbs.
• Norwood School: Independent, all-boys day school in Bethesda, MD serving grades PK–8. Mater Dei's closest structural peer: same city, same single-gender day model, same grade band (elementary–middle), and overlapping tuition tier.
• Landon School: Independent, all-boys day school in Bethesda, MD serving grades 3–12. Mater Dei's most direct geographic and gender-based competitor, particularly for families seeking single-sex K–8 education in the same Bethesda catchment area.
• Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart: Catholic, all-girls independent day school in Bethesda, MD serving grades 1–12. Mater Dei's sister-school analog for the same demographic, sharing faith-based mission and Bethesda location.
• Sidwell Friends School: Elite co-educational Quaker day school in Washington, DC serving grades PK–12. Competes for the same upper-tier Bethesda/Montgomery County families seeking values-driven independent education with strong college placement.
• St. Andrew's Episcopal School: Co-educational, faith-affiliated independent day school in Potomac, MD serving grades 1–12. Comparable on faith-based identity, geographic catchment, accelerated academics, and competitive extracurricular programming.
• Georgetown Preparatory School: Jesuit, all-boys Catholic day school in Bethesda/North Bethesda, MD for grades 9–12. While Mater Dei feeds into schools like Georgetown Prep, the schools share the same mission-aligned demographic of Catholic boys' education in Montgomery County.
• Holton-Arms School: All-girls independent day school in Bethesda, MD serving grades 3–12. Competes for the same Bethesda families seeking single-sex independent education, and pairs with Mater Dei's demographic for sibling households.

Others

• Blackbaud: Education administration software provider whose Financial Aid Management and school management platforms Mater Dei uses. Not a competitor but a key enabling technology vendor for independent school operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/materdeischoolmd
• Instagraminstagram.com/materdeischoolmd?igshid=1lmyxu0g43735
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mater-dei-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mater Dei School